The FINANCIAL — TBC Bank has offered its clients a brand new credit card, which should compete with the already popular loyalty cards existing on the local market. The priority of the Smart Card is that you are adding gift points while paying with it. The Smart Card may significantly affect the business of the newly opened company UNICARD.
Loyalty and Saving cards are again booming in Tbilisi. The Bank of Georgia offers its customers American Express cards participating in an international gift programme. The American Express Membership Rewards programme enables the card-member to earn points that can be redeemed for a wide range of retail, travel and leisure rewards. Company Universal Card Corporation is actively promoting its saving cards. Now TBC Bank is adding the Smart Card to its already existing Cosmo Cards and Magti Cards.
Loyalty cards differ from each other in the conditions stated by its producers, but all of them consider themselves a stimulus for spending and taking part in gift programmes. Each of the cards has its own advantages. Consumers should choose the most suited card for them.
Nowadays the consumer might gain double profit by paying with Smart Card, adding smart coins for TBC gifts and at the same time swiping UNICARD for additional benefits from Universal Card Corporation.
Double profit might be only gained if the place where the consumer buys something or uses its service participates in the programme of both cards, for example Goodwill and Elite Electronics. It’s not clear if this will cause a limiting of use of both cards altogether.
As Goodwill officials say, swiping two cards simultaneously is possible, because in the case of Smart Card, TBC Bank itself provides gift programmes and the agreement with UNICARD is very different.
To ensure the loyalty of the customers, all of the leading drug stores are offering their consumers gift cards. PSP – Smiles, Aversi – Mtredi Barati, GPC – Zgarbi Barati. These cards differ from the ones offered by banks with limited choices.
UNICARD is the analogue of the Zebra card which existed years ago, but it is more organized and improved. UNICARD prompts consumers to purchase things.
TBC Bank’s Cosmo card belongs to money saving cards. The Cosmo card is only for women and is mainly available in shops, beauty salons and health centres.
According to the people inquired by The FINANCIAL, the boom of different saving cards is quite acceptable for them.
“I am very pleased with the fact that nowadays there exist many saving cards from which I receive gifts quite often. I do think that as many saving and gift cards will appear on the Georgian market, so many people will have the ability to win a gift,” said Nino Margiani, 25.
“Personally I have almost all the types of saving cards, including UNICARD, PSP, Aversi and GPC saving cards. I also use a Populi card. Since I have started using these cards I have already received many gifts and I hope that the appearance of the new Smart Card will also be as successful as the others. I will definitely start using this new TBC Smart Card, especially since I am a frequent client of TBC,” said Kate Khatiashvili, 35.
The TBC Smart Card is distinguished by its original design and exceptional summery colours. The creators of this card want consumers to realize the means of this card very soon.
As its officials note, the Smart Club is a life full of rewards, exclusives and impressions. Only Smart Club members can:
•Get rewards simply because they are using banking products – Smart Club members accumulate Smart points for making purchases with a plastic card, opening a deposit, taking a loan and using Remote Products. Later these points are redeemed for rewards.
•Choose any desirable reward out of about 100,000 products or services offered by our partners – we do not restrict your choice, you are free to make your selection!
•Enjoy the simplest scheme of receiving a reward – no coupons, catalogue subscription and waiting…You simply visit a partner outlet, choose a desirable reward, redeem the points accumulated on your Smart Club card and the reward is yours.
•Attend the events exclusively arranged for Smart Club members and be impressed.
Smart Club is a club for TBC Bank’s loyal clients. Club members receive gifts for using bank products. Any individual who is a TBC Bank client and uses one of the following products, can join Smart Club: Any debit or credit card; Any type of deposit, current account.
The fee for joining Smart Club is 5 GEL.
Upon joining you will receive a free plastic card – the Smart Club membership card, which shall be used only for accumulating points and redeeming them for rewards – any products or services offered by the partner trade and service outlets.
“Since you have been TBC Bank’s devoted customer for years, as a token of gratitude TBC Bank will reward you with Welcome points upon joining Smart Club: If you have been enjoying TBC Bank’s services for over 1 year, you will receive 300 Smart points. Over 3 years – 500 Smart points,” bank officials note.
Loyal customers of TBC Bank will be awarded with Welcome Points as they become members of Smart Club.
In order to receive the gifts consumers are continuing the bank products which they like. It’s not necessary to open any special deposit in order to gain the points, because Club members are awarded while using practically any banking products. The fact that for saving points many different banking products are involved, means that you will gain gift points more quickly.
For additional comfort, while saving points it’s not necessary for Smart Club members to swipe the cards. Points are automatically added to the card.
The Smart Club card is only needed when receiving gifts. Only Smart Club gives clients the ability to receive an exclusives-free ticket for club members for different entertainment events.
For conducting a transaction with these cards, the process of adding points for taking out loans and mode is once a month, mainly at the beginning of the month.
The accumulation of Smart points depends not only on actively using bank services and having savings, but also on how many categories of products you possess at our bank.
The more products you use, the more points you will receive.
•If you use two categories of banking products, your points will double.
•If you use three or more categories of banking products, your points will triple.
For example: You collected 300 points last month. If you have a salary card and any deposit, the points accumulated by you will amount to 600 instead of 300. If you use not only a card and a deposit, but are also actively using internet banking, your points will amount to 900!
You can collect points on your Smart Club card together with your relative, if he/she has an additional banking card issued to your Visa/MasterCard banking card.
For realization of the points it’s necessary to visit TBC Bank’s partner outlets and use the Smart Club card. The process of calculation of points is the same type as in the case of Visa/MasterCard.
Being a member of Smart Club you do not need any coupons, catalogue subscription or long expectations to get a desirable reward. It is sufficient to choose any reward in our partner facilities at any time and pay for it with Smart points on your Smart Club membership card.
For example, if you have accumulated 10,000 points on your Smart Club card, you can redeem the points for any desirable item within the range of 100 GEL.
If you do not have enough Smart points, you can use points to finance only part of your purchase and use cash or plastic card to finance the rest of the reward value.
In order to calculate which gift you may receive with your points, you should use the easy formula of 100 = 1 GEL. If the points are not enough to receive a gift, you may add some money, either in cash or with your Visa/MasterCard card.
Pay with a card – when paying with TBC Bank’s any VISA/MasterCard, 1 Smart point will be accrued for each 2 GEL (you do not need to use the Smart Club membership card while paying. You will need this card only while receiving a reward). Deposit your savings in the Bank – you will receive 20 points for the average monthly balance of each 1,000 GEL. Take a loan and you will receive a one-time 500 points.
Points are accumulated while paying with any plastic card of TBC Bank. Points are accumulated only while using TBC Bank POS terminals. Always try to pay with a card in places where you see “You can get Smart points here”. For point accumulation purposes use of Smart Club membership card is not needed. You will benefit twice as much if you pay with a TBC plastic card and at the same time have any discount card with you.
Points are accrued once a month. At the beginning of each month (usually on the first day of each month) the points accumulated during the previous month will be accrued to the Smart Club card.
You can receive information about your Smart points at any time: See menu My Account; Send an SMS with the text “Smart” from your mobile phone to 2727 or just call us at: 27 27 27.
You may affectively use the priority that you are a member of smart club and therefore you own a UNICARD. Use while paying in a shop with any of TBC Bank’s Visa/MasterCard cards, after the transaction swipe the UNICARD card. To use TBC Bank’s Visa/MasterCard card you will receive points on the Smart Club card and after swiping the Unicard the points will be added on to the card.
The partners of Smart Club are: MANGO, UNITED COLORS OF BENETTON, SWATCH, ART TIME, VOULEZ-VOUS, RONIKO, GPC, ELIT ELECTRONICS, TRAVEL CLUB, GOODWILL, BOWLINGCENTRAL, KRYSTAL, LOPOTA RESORT.
